For those of you that did not get a chance to read about the so-called "aspartame poisoning," please see Dr. Cohen's post above for the link if you're interested. For those of you that did get the chance to read the lengthy claim, the following was noted at the bottom:
~ The origin of this article does not allow for a list of references for the above claims. In other words, believe at your own discretion. ~
Although this warning was included at the end of my post, I should have conducted some research prior to posting, to ensure the claim's validity. In reading and posting the article I did, I mistakenly fell into the trap that many writers create - I became a member of the lay public, shocked by the possibility that the words I had just read could actually be true! I have recently been enlightened, however, and the article I posted is a hoax. I urge you all to use this incident as an example: many of the articles that you read via the Internet or e-mail do not come with an attached list of references, so next time you read one, ask yourself why the information isn't referenced...it's probably because there's a good chance that the information did not arise from research attributable to various sources. Nevertheless, I found this article to be personally beneficial: it caused me to think about the positive and negative effects of artificial ingredients, about the possibilities of misdiagnoses, and also about the junk that isn't filtered before it reaches the community. I suppose we can't go wrong in being skeptical until we've researched to find the truth.
My apologies,
JessicaR495
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A study that was conducted on mice found that after consuming sixteen 12oz diet sodas per day that the animals experienced nerve toxicity. however there is no evidence that aspartame is harmful to people.In fact the Food and Drug administration considers aspartame one of their most best studied food additives that it has ever approved. But the article is very interesting!
So this posting really hit close to home for me because my father has fibromyalgia. I know for a fact that my parents have an entire drawer dedicated to Equal which might be a contributing factor to fibromyalgia. I was searching further side effects of aspartame poisoning and I found an interesting website: http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html
Here is some info from the site...
Aspartame Side Effects
The components of aspartame can lead to a number of health problems, as you have read. Side effects can occur gradually, can be immediate, or can be acute reactions. According to Lendon Smith, M.D. there is an enormous population suffering from side effects associated with aspartame, yet have no idea why drugs, supplements and herbs don’t relieve their symptoms. Then, there are users who don’t ‘appear’ to suffer immediate reactions at all. Even these individuals are susceptible to the long-term damage caused by excitatory amino acids, phenylalanine, methanol, and DKP.
Adverse reactions and side effects of aspartame include:
Eye
blindness in one or both eyes
decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as: blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision, decreased night vision
pain in one or both eyes
decreased tears
trouble with contact lenses
bulging eyes
Ear
tinnitus - ringing or buzzing sound
severe intolerance of noise
marked hearing impairment
Neurologic
epileptic seizures
headaches, migraines and (some severe)
dizziness, unsteadiness, both
confusion, memory loss, both
severe drowsiness and sleepiness
paresthesia or numbness of the limbs
severe slurring of speech
severe hyperactivity and restless legs
atypical facial pain
severe tremors
Psychological/Psychiatric
severe depression
irritability
aggression
anxiety
personality changes
insomnia
phobias
Chest
palpitations, tachycardia
shortness of breath
recent high blood pressure
Gastrointestinal
nausea
diarrhea, sometimes with blood in stools
abdominal pain
pain when swallowing
Skin and Allergies
itching without a rash
lip and mouth reactions
hives
aggravated respiratory allergies such as asthma
Endocrine and Metabolic
loss of control of diabetes
menstrual changes
marked thinning or loss of hair
marked weight loss
gradual weight gain
aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
severe PMS
Other
frequency of voiding and burning during urination
excessive thirst, fluid retention, leg swelling, and bloating
increased susceptibility to infection
Additional Symptoms of Aspartame Toxicity include the most critical symptoms of all
death
irreversible brain damage
birth defects, including mental retardation
peptic ulcers
aspartame addiction and increased craving for sweets
hyperactivity in children
severe depression
aggressive behavior
suicidal tendencies
Aspartame may trigger, mimic, or cause the following illnesses:
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Epstein-Barr
Post-Polio Syndrome
Lyme Disease
Grave’s Disease
Meniere’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease
ALS
Epilepsy
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
EMS
Hypothyroidism
Mercury sensitivity from Amalgam fillings
Fibromyalgia
Lupus
non-Hodgkins
Lymphoma
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
These are not allergies or sensitivities, but diseases and disease syndromes. Aspartame poisoning is commonly misdiagnosed because aspartame symptoms mock textbook ‘disease’ symptoms, such as Grave’s Disease.
Aspartame changes the ratio of amino acids in the blood, blocking or lowering the levels of serotonin, tyrosine, dopamine, norepinephrine, and adrenaline. Therefore, it is typical that aspartame symptoms cannot be detected in lab tests and on x-rays. Textbook disorders and diseases may actually be a toxic load as a result of aspartame poisoning.
what is the mechanism behind the 'nerve poisoning' that brings about MS symptoms? This is interesting to me because a full recovery is a very possible outcome, but I would like to know how.
To be brief, rodent phase I and human phase I xenobiotic metabolism mechanisms are more different than alike. Aspartame is a xenobiotic. Interpret with caution metabolism studies in animals, and poorly-controlled human correlative studies.
For instance, aspartame can cause cancer in rats, due to a rat-specific metabolite formation, that does not occur in humans.
Summary from EHS:
Aspartame is not linked to cancer.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=17366802
Here's an interesting study on rat neural cytochrome p450 metabolism of aspartame (for the MS comment):
The effect of aspartame on rat brain xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes.
Vences-Mejia, A., et al.
1: Hum Exp Toxicol. 2006 Aug;25(8):453-9
But these are just possible mechanisms in human metabolism.
Just remember: rat and mouse drug metabolism does not translate well to human metabolism, unless the drug is mainly metabolized through a few specific systems.
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